


Becoming What You Fear

by Wolfcry22



Series: Shame [14]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Awesome Bobby Singer, Bobby Singer Deals With Idjits, Bobby Singer is Dean and Sam Winchester's Parent, Bobby Singer to the Rescue, Broken Sam Winchester, College | University Student Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester is Sam Winchester's Parent, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Emotionally Hurt Sam Winchester, Gen, Hurt Sam Winchester, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, John Winchester Bashing, Parental Bobby Singer, Protective Bobby Singer, Sam Winchester is So Done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-21
Updated: 2020-10-21
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:07:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27130189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wolfcry22/pseuds/Wolfcry22
Summary: Sam arrives back at the bar that Bobby Singer works out with shocking news. Bobby attempts to hit home a couple of hard truths. (Based off a scene from the TV show Shameless)
Series: Shame [14]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1883236
Kudos: 27





	Becoming What You Fear

**Author's Note:**

> It’s been a hot second since I’ve written something from this verse. But this is one scene that has always spoken to me as a similarity between Frank and Lip and I thought I would showcase it between Sam and John. Although I feel like Dean is generally more like John in some respects, Sam certainly is in others, especially when it comes to both of their personalities. This is from a scene in season 6 of the show Shameless, so potential spoilers if you haven’t watched that far in the series.
> 
> Warning for referenced alcoholism, brief strong language, and possible triggering themes.

Sam plopped down at the long bar and flicked his wrist forward. “Bobby,” he called, a slight rasp to his voice.

From behind the bar, an older man with a ball cap stood up, rubbing his hands dry on a rag that hung from his waist. Although Bobby Singer’s job was still hunting, he sometimes took shifts at the local bar for supplemental income. It wasn’t much, but he was good at it and he enjoyed the guys that were there. The work wasn’t difficult and he only worked a couple hours at the most during the later mornings and early evenings when most of the day drinkers were there, drowning their sorrows in alcohol. It could sometimes be depressing to see so many men wasting their lives drinking. Although it was something that Bobby would engage in, it was different to see these men on the other side of things. Bobby could deal with the middle aged men with lives not going anywhere. However, when he saw a familiar and younger face, he was almost unsure how to react.

“Sam Winchester? What are ya doin’ here,” questioned Bobby as he leaned over the bar, large palms pressed on the top.

Sam shrugged, motioning to the tap. “Got any Samuel Adams? Maybe some Blue Moon?” 

One of the other bartenders reached over and filled a glass with dark golden liquid from the farthest taps. She frowned when she realized who was sitting at the bar. “Samuel Winchester? What is he doing here drinking in the middle of the day,” questioned the brunette haired bartender with one hand rested on her hip while the glass filled.

“Getting hammered apparently, Masie,” Bobby huffed under his breath.

Masie brought over the beer and set in front of Sam. “Hey, no classes today,” she questioned as she reluctantly handed over the pint of beer.

“It’s a holiday,” answered Sam with his body turned back on the stool to look up at the TV on the back wall. It was a rerun of sports highlights from the previous night and not all that interesting, yet Sam’s attention was glued to it.

Masie exchanged a worrisome glance with Bobby, who offered a frown in response. A shiver passed through Masie as she leaned forward, her muscular arms rippling on the bar top as she crouched lower to be eye level with Sam. “Really? Which one,” she questioned casually.

“Old Rock Day,” bellowed a voice from the end of the bar. There sat a heavyset man with sleeve tattoos and a thick beard, potbelly spilling over his ill-fitting jeans. He was on his third beer and didn’t appear to be slowing down anytime soon.

“The what?” The man beside the heavyset man elbowed him hard in the shoulder. The heavyset man didn’t even flinch. “You’re making that up, Wayne!”

Wayne shoved back the other man back hard, nearly spilling his beer in the process. “Am not, Clyde! It’s a real holiday.” He took another gulp of beer, wincing at the taste as it rolled down his throat. “I looked it up on the Yahoo.”

“Google,” corrected Clyde as he drew one hand down his face, pressing on his eyes on the way down. “No one uses Yahoo anymore. Apparently just mechanics with nothing else on their minds.”

“I heard that,” seethed Bobby from behind the bar.

Sam took another sip of his beer. “It’s a documented holiday that has people learning the history of not only fossils, but the rocks as well that make them up.”

“Rocks,” snorted Bobby as he picked an ashtray and dumped the contents into the nearby trashcan. “Is that so?”

“Flora and fauna are also preserved in fossils and that isn’t something that is considered as significant as a fossil from say a dinosaur. It’s that we were taught that these prehistoric creatures should be revealed while anything else that is preserved in the same right is treated as less than.”

Bobby’s eyes narrowed in scrutiny. This wasn’t like Sam to be overly chatty, especially to a bar full of people that he didn’t know. Worry sparked through Bobby as he drummed his fingers against the edge of the bar. “How you doin’? You okay, Sam?”

Sam didn’t answer and grabbed his beer and chugged down as much as he could so that he didn’t have to respond to Bobby right away.

“Is this about your female professor? Is she still givin’ ya a hard time?” Bobby could often recall Sam complaining about a professor in his Intro to Western Civilization that he was clashing with, but he didn’t know it had been bad enough to cause Sam to skip town and head back home in the middle of the week.

Sam finished the rest of his beer and motioned to Masie. “Can I get another?”

Masie grabbed another glass and held it up to the tap. Bobby immediately turned and grimaced, shaking his head in disagreement. Allowing Sam to get drunk in the middle of the day wasn’t going to help matters in the slightest.

Masie set the glass down and raised her hands in defeat. She offered Sam a sympathetic look even though she agreed with Bobby cutting Sam off.

“Why don’t you go back to college, huh?” Bobby leaned back while keeping his calm gaze on Sam. “Actually learn something.”

Sam averted his gaze from the top of the bar. “I’m not going back.”

Masie’s head snapped upward from where she was cleaning one of the wells while Bobby sucked in a sudden breath of shock.

“Wait, what,” Masie questioned as she locked eyes with Bobby, hazel eyes littering in concern.

Sam shrugged nonchalantly. “I got expelled.”

“Expelled,” Masie gasped.

Bobby lifted a hand and drew it over his face, pulling at his chin. He knew that Sam wasn’t completely happy at college, but he never thought that he would do something to get himself expelled. Dean on the other hand, he certainly could’ve, but not Sam. “Damnit, Sam.”

“What, I got bored. It was costing a fortune anyway with rent and books. Scholarship only goes so far,” muttered Sam shortly. His shoulders hunched upward and his eyes narrowed to slits. It was clear he wanted this conversation to be over despite Bobby’s insistence he get more information. 

Masie gnawed on her bottom lip, fingers splayed and interwoven as they rested on her right thigh. “Does Dean know?”

Sam snorted in distain. “No, and he’s not going to. He’s got enough worried about with....” He trailed off as he met Bobby’s gaze. The older man gave his head a small shake to stop Sam from continuing. “Er......work.” 

“You’ve got to be the stupidest fucking smart guy that I know,” cried Wayne, slamming his glass of beer down so hard that golden liquid sloshed over the sides.

Sam let out a grunt. “Like any of your deadbeats actually graduated high school, let alone college.” His eyes seemed to dare anyone in the bar to argue his point.

Wayne and Clyde looked down while Bobby shook his head gravely. He wasn’t able to go toe to toe with Sam when it came to education. He had barely graduated high school and would’ve never thought of attending college. He was one of the ones that had really pushed Sam to follow his dreams and go to college because he knew what Sam was capable of. However, Bobby realized hat it hadn’t mattered what he had done to help Sam realize his true his potential; Sam had still turned out like the rest of them. 

“I graduated college,” Masie whispered under her breath. “Zoology actually.”

Sam scoffed in amusement. “Really? And yet you work here now?”

“Pays the bills, doesn’t it,” flashed Masie as she grabbed a rag from the back counter and stormed off away from Sam to the back of the house and away from his harsh comments. 

Bobby reached over and grabbed Sam’s empty glass and pushed it aside. “Does the ass of that bar stool feel nice and worn in? It should because that’s where your father always sits.”

Sam bristled at the mention of his father. If there was one thing that Sam hated talking about, it was John. That was a sure fire way to get on Sam’s, or even Dean’s, bad side in almost no time flat. It was even worse to insinuate that Sam was like John in anyway, which was why Bobby had brought it up. He had to get through to Sam somehow and that was one of the only ways Bobby knew. The only other way that he could think of was to bring Dean into things, but he had enough going on at the moment. 

“Tell Dean,” Bobby announced with a heavy sigh, turning away from Sam so that the youngest Winchester couldn’t see the stricken look on his face. “Or I will.”

**Author's Note:**

> Bobby is definitely one of my favorite characters and I love the interactions that he has with Dean and Sam throughout the series. He was also there with the tough love and I wanted to show that in this story, especially with Sam. I hope you all enjoyed this and are staying safe and healthy!


End file.
